High School Student Critically Injured After Being Hit By Police Cruiser In Gaithersburg

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (WJZ)– A high school football game ends in tragedy. A student fights for her life after being struck by a police car.

Adam May reports.

A tenth grade student at Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg is hit by a police car when officers respond to reports of a large fight after Friday night football.

“As some of them were turning onto Apple Ridge Road, witnesses state the 15-year-old pedestrian stepped off the curb and ran or walked between two of the responding cruisers with their emergency lights on,” Captain Paul Starks of the Montgomery County Police Department. “She was struck by the second of the two cruisers.”

The school’s principal identifies the students as sophomore Janaya Richards. The exact extent of her injuries unknown but she was so severely hurt, she needed CPR.

Four police officers are on routine leave to deal with the trauma they witnessed while investigators figure out what happened.

“We have to wait for the collision reconstruction unit to do their usual through and accurate investigation,” Capt. Starks said.

The principal also said counselors are being made available to other students when they head back to class on Monday.